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$37 billion to charity
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| geroin |
http://www.citynews.ca/news/news_1521.aspx
:eek:
World's Second Richest Man Makes Stunning Philanthropic Move
Monday June 26, 2006
How would you like to have to figure out how to spend $1.5 billion within the next year?
It's a problem a North American charity will be happily dealing with, after investor Warren Buffett made the kind of magnanimous offer rarely seen in the world of business, where acquiring more is the name of the game.
He's decided to give away an astonishing $37 billion to charity. That's about 80 percent of his entire $44 billion fortune.
Buffett will fork over $1.5 billion a year to the Bill and Melinda Gates Foundation, which is dedicated to helping solve the problem of world health and poverty, while giving Third World countries access to technology. It also aids domestic education causes.
Gates, the founder of Microsoft and the man acknowledged as the world's richest human being, announced last week he'd be stepping back from his own corporate duties to devote more time to his charity.
The 75-year-old Buffett, the planet's second wealthiest man, wants to see the money put to good use while he's still alive.
"My doctor tells me that I am in excellent health, and I certainly feel that I am," he writes in a letter to Bill and Melinda Gates. "If I should become incapacitated, however, and be unable to administer my affairs, I direct whoever is in charge of my affairs to honor the commitment I am making in this letter. "
The money comes with some strings attached. Every single donation has to be spent within the year, and can't be used for the proverbial rainy day or to build up the Foundation's already considerable $29.1 billion coffers.
The gifts will arrive every month for the rest of Buffett's life.
"You have committed yourselves to a few extraordinarily important but underfunded issues, a policy that I believe offers the highest probability of your achieving goals of great consequence," his letter states.
The gift is the single largest donation ever made by one person in North American history.
"Even if you look at what (John D.) Rockefeller and (Andrew) Carnegie gave historically -- even if you do it in today's numbers, it doesn't come close to that," marvels Stacy Palmer, editor of the Chronicle of Philanthropy.
Buffet made his billions at the helm of a company called Berkshire Hathaway, a struggling textile manufacturer he took over in 1965. It's now a $141.8 billion empire, which controls such prominent firms as Benjamin Moore Pains, Geico Auto Insurance, Fruit of the Loom, Johns Manville and Dairy Queen. |
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| starsearcher |
| Yeah good for Buffet...I was blown away this morning, couldn't even believe he did that...I guess it's so unusual in today's world, but great to see :) |
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| Tordan |
| I'm glad its Bill & Melinda's foundation that he decided to contribute the money to. No matter what people may think of Bill Gates you can't ignore the fact that him and his wife are committed to the charity and achieving results. |
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| Cosmic Fur |
Could have forked over a mil to me. Actually, I'd be happy even with a few thousand.
That's it, I'm starting a charity. |
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| Jem_hadar |
Mindboggling craziness!
Why couldnt he have contributed to the search for the cure for cancer! Help me out, jesus! |
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| VERTiG0 |
| quote: | Originally posted by Jem_hadar
Why couldnt he have contributed to the search for the cure for cancer! Help me out, jesus! |
You have cancer? |
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| Aaron Joseph |
| quote: | Originally posted by VERTiG0
You have cancer? |
my thought is exactly!! :eek: :conf: |
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| Theresa |
I am really glad to see that the people with more money than they could ever spend are recognizing this, and using it to help those who are less fortunate.
Nice to hear :D |
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| Tordan |
| quote: | Originally posted by Jem_hadar
Mindboggling craziness!
Why couldnt he have contributed to the search for the cure for cancer! Help me out, jesus! |
because poverty kills more people than cancer. |
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| King Luis |
| Bill Gates is probably one of the nicest guys out there. he has helped so many people. |
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| *~LiSa-LoO~* |
| Good for him. That's such a generous move on his part...and he'll STILL have a lot to live quite nicely off of with $7 billion left over! Hopefully it'll start a trend with multi billionaires. |
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| StereoPrincess |
| quote: | Originally posted by VERTiG0
You have cancer? |
he will have the skin cancer for sure. :) |
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